Ian Paisley Jnr fined after he was stopped while driving in Lisburn without insurance

Ian Paisley jnr

Published:15:07Thursday 10 March 2016

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Ian Paisley Jnr was fined £250 and given six penalty points at Lisburn Magistrate’s Court today, for driving without insurance.

North Antrim DUP MP Mr Paisley (49) did not attend the court hearing, where he was formally accused of driving a Saab car on February 18 last year on the Laganbank Road in the city “without there being in force in relation to the user of the said motor vehicle by you such a Policy of Insurance or such a Security in respect of third-party risks as complied with the requirements of Part V111 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, contrary to Article 90(4) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981”.

Defence barrister Steven Molloy told the court he had been instructed “to enter a plea” to the offence.

Mr Paisley has been MP for North Antrim since 2010 and was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the same constituency from 1998 to 2010.

In court, a prosecuting lawyer described how Mr Paisley was stopped by police as he drove along Governor’s Road in Lisburn at 8.15pm on February 18.

It was said a check on the insurance database revealed there was no insurance policy on the car.

The politician attended for police interview six days later and the lawyer said Mr Paisley had no previous criminal convictions.

Making his plea in mitigation, Mr Molloy said his client had been “oblivious that he had no insurance” as he believed the policy would have been automatically renewed when it expired a few weeks beforehand and the fact that it had lapsed was “an oversight” on his part.

“He insured the car the very next day,” said the lawyer, adding that Mr Paisley should be given maximum credit for his early plea and previous “very good character”.

Although he said he was not formally applying for reporting restrictions on Mr Paisley’s address, he asked the media not to report it “for security reasons”.

As well as the fine and penalty points, District Judge Rosie Watters ordered the MP to pay a £15 ‘offenders levy’.